Does anyone else find sweater dresses ridiculously hard to wear? Something about the cut almost never looks good on me. I’m all hip, with very little up top, so I end up looking like I’m drowning in a potato sack, or the extra fabric just makes my hips look so much wider. But it’s unfortunate because I love the look of a sweater dress. Love. It. So this post is all about how I’ve found sweater dress styles that actually look good on my body type, but tips on styling them! (Also – do the post images look pixelated to you? I may have messed up my export settings, or maybe it’s just the preview mode… 🤔)
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SWEATER DRESS (SIMILAR) // FRYE BOOTS (SIMILAR) // ANTHROPOLOGIE BAG (SIMILAR) // SIMILAR RUST HEADBAND // SIMILAR GREEN HEADBAND // VINTAGE BELT (SIMILAR) // VINTAGE CHAIN NECKLACE (SIMILAR) // MEDALLION NECKLACE (SIMILAR)
SWEATER DRESS CUTS TO LOOK FOR
For me, the most flattering cuts are the styles that replicate dresses I’d wear in not sweater form. I find the actual, oversized sweater styles to be the least flattering (hence why this post looks best in Spring over Fall) because I have a hard time balancing the upper and lower parts of my body. Often those styles will be snug around the hips as well, which isn’t very flattering without a defined waist (for me). A belt can help (see below), but it’s not always practical and it can shorten length.
I hate to say this, I really truly do, but avoiding cable knits and more textured knits can also be helpful. I love a good cable knit sweater and I am determined to find a dress version that works on my body, but I know I need to try before I buy because those knits add bulk and if you aren’t evenly distributed, it can make the difference look bigger. This sweater dress I’m wearing is about as thick of a knit as I go for because, if you can look carefully, you can see where it emphasizes my hips without giving any benefit up top.
A-line styles are a great choice because they flow away from the body and define a natural waistline, but the style is currently as trendy as other options. One current favorite style is a wrap dress. I recently picked up two wrap sweater dresses from Abercrombie that I love! They offer the sweater dress look in one of the most classically flattering silhouettes. Another option I love is picking up a thinner knit in a very oversized fit, and belting it! (I have a post coming later this month with that look!)
HOW TO ACCESSORIZE
A belt is my favorite accessory for a sweater dress, or any dress for that matter. It does wonders for helping me balance out my small chest and wide hips. It can help prevent dresses from forming a tent on your body by defining the waistline. For this dress, for example, my hips would pull the fabric away from my waist, so it would be sort of triangular as it fell from my arm pits to my hips. Adding the belt highlights my curves in a flattering way.
When accessorizing, also consider the weight of the fabric of the dress. This dress is a little chunkier, so I love the look with a sterling bag, but a simple leather would look great as well. A fabric handbag might be a little more challenging though because it’s so light weight, it might look like two opposing seasons.
Same with shoes and belts, chunkier knits tend to thrive with chunkier shoes and belts, while thinner knits tend to look best with a more refined shoe or thinner belt. Of course, these are all suggestions and fashion is what you make of it, but these tips might just save your closet floor as you try on 18 different shoes and 15 different belts to get the look right.
SHOP THESE SWEATER DRESS PICKS
Here are a few spring sweater dress styles that are catching my eye and I think would be flattering:
What do you think of sweater dresses? Do you wear them or avoid them?
